Avatar broadcasting is a feature that allows event hosts to project their avatars into parallel "clone" instances of the same experience in order to circumvent the usual limits on the number of people who are allowed to visit an experience simultaneously. This allows you to reach a much larger audience and provide a "front row" experience to all visitors, regardless of the number of attendees.

Why is avatar broadcasting necessary?

For performance reasons, experiences normally have a maximum occupancy of about 35 avatars. Once this limit is reached, new visitors are instead sent to a parallel copy, called an instance, of the same experience where they can explore the scene without worrying about degrading performance due to the excessive number of avatars in the scene. However, this arrangement can be problematic during events where the presenter wants to reach more than 35 guests; under default circumstances, any visitors over the instance limit are unable to see or hear the presenters, since they have been sent to a copy of the scene with a different set of visitors.

Avatar broadcasting allows avatars from one "broadcasting" scene to be projected into other instances of the same scene, allowing a much larger audience to see and hear them.

How does avatar broadcasting work?

Avatar broadcasting makes use of two or more instances of a scene: A broadcasting instance, inhabited by the event hosts and VIPs, and one or more clone instances, which may be visited by event guests.

Broadcasting instance

The broadcasting instance is typically where the event host and certain VIPs reside during an event. These broadcasters can be seen and heard in all the clone instances of the experience, as though they were actually there. However, this projection goes only one direction: people in the broadcasting instance cannot see people in clone instances or hear their voice chat. Text does carry across all broadcasting and clone instances.

As a broadcaster, this means it may feel as though you are talking to an empty room, but remember that for your audience it most likely appears to be a full house.

Clone instances

Visitors to an avatar broadcasting event are sent to copies, or clones of the the experience the broadcaster is in. There can be multiple clones depending on the number of visitors. Visitors in the clone instances can see and chat with each other if they are in the same instance, and they can also see and hear everyone who is in the broadcasting instance. Broadcasters cannot see or hear visitors to the clone instances, but text chat carries across all broadcasting and clone instances. This lets everyone communicate with each other across instances.

Broadcasters who appear in a clone instance look and sound just like everyone else, but are marked with a red Broadcasting tag to set them apart from other visitors. Broadcasters also have an icon above their head that consists of animated concentric circles.

Broadcasted avatars are marked with the word Broadcasting in their nametag.

Broadcasted avatars also have a circular icon above their heads for quick identification.

Interactions between broadcasting and clone instances

Visitors to a clone instance cannot affect the environment in the broadcasting instance. However, broadcasters may take certain actions that have an effect on the clone instances. Here are some of the effects you may observe:

Visitors to a clone instance cannot run into, or collide with broadcasters. Instead, the avatars pass harmlessly through each other. (Remember, broadcasters cannot even see visitors so they may accidentally walk through someone.)

Visitors can hear broadcasters in voice chat, but the broadcasters cannot hear visitors.

Visitors may see movable dynamic objects that appear in the broadcasters' scene, but they cannot move them or pick them up. They may see the broadcasters manipulating some objects, while they cannot see others. Broadcasters cannot see or collide with dynamic objects that appear in a clone instance.

If a broadcaster is standing on an object that moves, visitors see him move around the scene as the object moves. If the corresponding object in the clone instance is in a different place, the broadcaster may appear to be flying or otherwise standing on an invisible object.

One notable exception to these rules is that text chat carries both ways between the broadcasting and clone instances, giving visitors a means to communicate with broadcasters in the broadcasting instance.

How can I visit an event that is using avatar broadcasting?

Currently, the only way to participate in an avatar broadcasting event is to obtain a special Atlas URL for the event. While in Sansar, paste this URL into the Chat app and click the Go button that appears.

How can I create a broadcasting instance?

The ability to create a broadcasting instance is coming soon. Currently, the use of avatar broadcasting is limited to special events curated by Linden Lab.